I am writing to express my strong opposition to SB 704 (Arreguin), which would require all sales and transfers of firearm barrels to be processed through a licensed dealer, complete with background checks and data entry into state databases. Without question, California already enforces some of the strictest gun laws in the country—including background checks for every firearm purchase. Adding barrels to this process is unnecessary, duplicative, and targets the wrong people. Criminals aren't walking into gun stores and asking for serialized barrels. This bill burdens only the law-abiding. A firearm barrel is an essential component of a firearm, and as such, is protected under the Second Amendment. The continued scrutiny and regulation of individual gun parts—like barrels, springs, and pins—is not about safety. It’s about creating a slow, bureaucratic stranglehold on gun ownership by regulating every possible aspect of a constitutionally protected right. If someone already owns a legally purchased, registered firearm, there is no legitimate safety interest in requiring them to undergo another background check just to replace or upgrade a barrel. Worse yet, this bill proposes a penalty of up to $10,000 and a year in jail for violating its terms—an absurd and excessive punishment for something as simple as acquiring a piece of metal tubing that only functions when paired with a firearm already subject to full regulation. SB 704 is not about safety; it’s about harassment and intimidation of lawful gun owners through regulatory overkill. I stand with Fun Owners of California and urge you to reject this bill and refocus legislative energy on real solutions to violent crime—not the micromanagement of constitutionally protected tools.

I’m writing to strongly oppose SB 704 (Arreguin), a bill that would mandate all firearm barrel sales and transfers go through licensed dealers, complete with background checks and entry into state databases. California already has some of the toughest gun laws in the nation, including mandatory background checks for every firearm sale. Adding barrels to this process is unnecessary and misguided—criminals aren’t walking into shops to buy serialized barrels. This measure places yet another burden solely on responsible gun owners. Barrels, like other firearm components, are protected under the Second Amendment, and this push to regulate every piece of a gun is clearly about control, not safety. If someone legally owns a registered firearm, there’s no valid public safety reason to require another background check just to replace or upgrade a barrel. What’s more, the penalties—up to $10,000 in fines and a year in jail—are wildly disproportionate for something as basic as obtaining a part that only works when paired with an already-regulated firearm. SB 704 is not a safety bill—it’s a bureaucratic hammer aimed at lawful citizens. I stand with Gun Owners of California in opposing this legislation and urge lawmakers to focus on real strategies to combat violent crime instead of criminalizing the ownership of basic firearm parts.